Two men charged, granted bonds in shooting death of Loris teen

Bond has been set at $110,000 for an Aynor man charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a Loris teen. The man who drove the teen to the scene of the shooting is also facing charges.

Michael Bennie Williamson, 47, appeared before Judge Nathan Hutson Tuesday morning for a bond hearing on charges of first-degree assault and battery, voluntary manslaughter and possessing a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Nathan Kendell Bell, 35, of Loris also appeared before the judge, charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and four counts of unlawful neglect of a child. Bell’s bonds were set at a total of $50,000.

Police say Bell drove 16-year-old Spencer Prince and two others to a home on Ashbury Road where a fight broke out during a party around 2:45 a.m. Sunday.

Witnesses told Horry County police that the group had been arguing with Williamson’s son over the phone and that they came to the party “to fight them because they were not invited,” according to a police report.

Sixteen-year-old Spencer Prince was shot in the chaos and was transported to Seacoast Hospital, where he later died from his injuries, according to Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard.

One man told police that “warning shots” had been fired during the fight.

Williamson had a “very deep and long cut” above his left eye and his knee “was badly scraped,” police said.

Officers collected Williamson’s gun that was unloaded and missing a clip and also seized a gun from another witness at the scene as possible evidence, according to a police report.

Police say surveillance cameras at the location captured a white Tahoe stopping in front of the house, “numerous people getting out of the vehicle and then a fight breaking out in the roadway.” The fight continued and ended up in the driveway, according to the report.

“At the end of the video (the responding officer) observed numerous people trying to take the gun away from the suspect in the driveway,” the report stated. Another witness was seen taking the clip out of the gun and putting it in his pocket, police noted.

Williamson was booked into the J. Rueben Long Detention Center at 11:15 a.m. Sunday, online jail records show.

Prince was a student at Loris High School and played baseball there, according to his Facebook page.

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Two men charged, granted bonds in shooting death of Loris teen."